Weight RANT (need advice)

toomuchcoffeelady · 12-26-2007, 05:01 PM

Backstory: The most I have ever weighed in my life was 136, which was when I got dx'd with PCOS and IR this past August. I'm now down to 121, which I lost on met alone. I pretty much wasn't eating a lot of sugar and bleached flour before, so no makor diet change. (I'm 5'3 and smaller boned.)

Problem? I'm STILL having PCOS/IR symptoms, still not PG... and my endo told me last week that I can't afford to lose anymore weight!

I really just don't get how I'm supposed to manage this - the way you take care of PCOS is lose weight, eat healthy, exercise. I'm freaking doing the first two (not exercising), and here my doc is telling me I can't afford to lose weight. Do I stuff my face and let my PCOS get worse? Or do I keep on met and not eating crap and have so little body fat I can't get PG?

Fritzy · 12-26-2007, 05:25 PM

I am 5 foot 6, currently 110 lbs. I am always small. The met alone did not regulate my cycles. I had to take fertility meds for that, but I did respond better to those drugs with met than without. For my RE and I the primary reason to take it is to control insulin resistance and cardiac effects with PCOS for the future. Yes I eat healthy, but I never ever count my calories, I just eat tons of healthy food. At work they sometimes call me the bottomless pit. I weighed 115 lbs, before pregnancy, I am losing weight due to morning sickness. Some ladies do have luck with vitex, to induce ovulation, but it has to build up in the system for about three months. I have other friends that were never regular but after a few months of accupunture they were like clock work. Losing more weight for thin cysters is not the answer. Good luck!

sheepiegirl · 12-26-2007, 06:51 PM

For us thin cysters, I don't think the 'lose weight' advice works for us. I have weighed as much as 121 and as little as 107 (I'm 5'3" 1/2) and didn't get my period at any of those weights. Aside from funky bloodwork and cysts on my ovaries, those are my only symptoms (no hair, acne, etc).

I think the best thing you can do for yourself, regardless of PCOS, is to eat healthy and exercise and live the best life you can. There's no point in trying to stuff your face--that doesn't hurt anyone but yourself.

I guess it all depends on what you want to 'get' out of PCOS. What all you need to manage. If it is fertility, then Met and other drugs, as well as more invasive options are choices. If it is some of the other symptoms, there are also meds that seem to help. If it is to just try and get rid of PCOS naturally, that will probably be hard. I'm not a doctor, but it just seems like the thin PCOS is more resistant to a lot of the common treatments used for it.

I know some thin PCOSers got pg while at pretty low weights, and I got pg while I was about 111, so I think you'll be okay, body fat-wise if you don't get a ton thinner.

mnstrpc · 12-27-2007, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheepiegirl

I guess it all depends on what you want to 'get' out of PCOS. What all you need to manage. If it is fertility, then Met and other drugs, as well as more invasive options are choices. If it is some of the other symptoms, there are also meds that seem to help. If it is to just try and get rid of PCOS naturally, that will probably be hard. I'm not a doctor, but it just seems like the thin PCOS is more resistant to a lot of the common treatments used for it.

Pretty much -- what Sheepiegirl said! You have only to read the pregnant and mommy boards and threads to see how many women with PCOS have been able to successfully conceive and carry to term. For the fluffier ladies, losing weight alone may do the trick whereas for thin cysters, other meds and methods may be needed, but conceiving is definitely possible. I conceived on Met, synthroid, clomid, and trigger shot (plus IUI). I am a little over 5'5" and weighed 128lbs at conception (don't ask what I weigh right now; we're ignoring that!).

If you continue to eat healthfully and exercise, you can significantly reduce your chances of having diabetes, heart disease, or other complications of PCOS later in life.

If you're looking for a straight-up cure, then it's true you may be frustrated and disappointed. I think it may be better to look at PCOS as a condition that can be effectively managed, rather than a disease you can cure by doing all the right things. JM2C.

Good luck!

toomuchcoffeelady · 12-27-2007, 06:35 PM

What do I want to "get" out of PCOS? Babies, that I give birth to. A way to eat a peice of chocolate without worrying I'll turn into an androgynous monster. Not to develop full blown Type 2 diabetes, heart problems, and God knows what else.

Amy2006 · 12-28-2007, 01:07 AM

I am 5'7 and was 117 (two years ago) with a normal range BMI (low end). I wouldnt worry about your weight, you can google your BMI and check out your normal-healthy range.

Amy2006 · 12-28-2007, 01:09 AM

You should pm Trishainaz, she is shorter than me and she was around 111...I think. She just had her third.